Months after being damaged due to a landslide, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to reconstruct the road at Malabar Hill within six months on an urgent basis.
According to reports, the BMC will spend Rs 49.50 crore for the construction work, which includes Rs 1.26 crore consultation charges. The proposal will be tabled for discussion in the standing committee.
On August 5, incessant rainfall in Mumbai led to a landslide at Malabar Hill, causing the retaining wall of BG Kher Road to collapse. NS Patkar Marg, which links Opera House to Kemps Corner and connects Peddar Road to the north, was shut for over a month after the August 5 landslide. It is currently open for the south-bound traffic in the morning and the north-bound traffic in the evening, leading to massive congestion in all the other roads in the area.
The incident did not just damage the road at Kemps Corner. Many trees on the hill slope along the road were uprooted, and a water pipeline (which supplied water to areas in south Mumbai in the jurisdiction of D ward) was damaged.
After the landslide, BMC formed a technical advisory committee, which included professors from IIT, NMIMS, BMC officials and members from structural consultancy companies, to study the condition of soil and road before reconstruction of the patch. As per reports, the Geo Technical investigation is completed as per the recommendation of the committee.
The BG Kher Road (Ridge Road) at the hill slope passes from the iconic hanging Gardens, Kamala Nehru Park and the Tower of Silence.
In August, rains wreaked havoc in Mumbai. Several videos of the destruction caused by incessant rains in Mumbai went viral on social media, showing floodwater inside shops, building compounds and slums.
